


it gets a little weirder than expected

by summerwoodsmoke



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Blood Moon Ball, F/M, earth magic and mewni magic intertwine, this is 7/8ths them when they're 14 and 1/8 them when they're 17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 19:30:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9086914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerwoodsmoke/pseuds/summerwoodsmoke
Summary: Star Butterfly was the first member of the Butterfly royal line to be born without suit marks on her cheeks. Despite this, Star grew up to be a perfectly normal and healthy child, albeit overly wild for a princess. Mostly, Moon tried not to think about it. And mostly, she succeeded, until Star turned fourteen, claimed the wand, and proved to be too unwieldy for Mewni to handle (or for her to handle Mewni). Moon began looking into places to send Star so she could...grow, perhaps.And then she found Earth, and learned of their magic. Soulmarks.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i just started watching svtfoe this fall, and honestly it was a ray of sunshine that saved me from the semester sent from hell. as soon as i'd caught up with all the released episodes (which, at the time, was spider with a top hat), i immediately wanted to write something for it, which is about the highest sign of my love for something.  
> this was the fluffy, wonderful result. i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i loved writing it!

Star Butterfly was the first member of the Butterfly royal line to be born without suit marks on her cheeks. Instead, her mother noted with worry, the infant princess had two tiny marks in the place of suits, one on each cheek, too small to make out any discernible shape or colour.  
  
"What could this mean?" the king asked his wife, but she had no answer. He never questioned Star’s parentage, which she appreciated, but it didn't change what was happening. There were Butterfly women without marks, but never any that were first in the line of succession. Queens and destined queens of Mewni always bore suit marks. Star, her first born, her only, her beautiful, brand new daughter, was utterly unique. And Moon had no idea what it would mean, not for her daughter, not for their families, and not for the entire kingdom of Mewni.

 

* * *

 

Despite the dramatics of her birth, Star grew up to be a perfectly normal and healthy child, albeit overly wild for a princess. 

  
"She takes after me," River liked to boast, to which Moon would roll her eyes. She did wonder if he wasn't onto something, though—the royal line was a matrilineal one, always had been, but perhaps the blood had become diluted enough that Star really did take after her father more?  
  
_That's not how magic works, and you know it,_ a voice in her head went. It sounded disturbingly like Glossaryck.  
  
Mostly, she tried not to think about it. And mostly, she succeeded, until Star turned fourteen, claimed the wand, and proved to be too unwieldy for Mewni to handle (or for her to handle Mewni). Moon began looking into places to send Star so she could...grow, perhaps.  
  
And then she found Earth, and learned of _their_ magic.  
  
_Soulmarks_.

 

* * *

 

Marco's parents matched both soulmarks with each other, which wasn't a common or easy feat. Everybody grew up with two marks, one on on each wrist, and those marks changed and grew as people did, until they met those they matched with, and _clicked_.  
  
It had been Marco's favourite story as a kid (less so as he got older, having to hear it in full detail every time a new student came to stay with them), how his parents had met and seen their first marks match up, then eventually grow to see their second marks match up the day they got engaged.  
  
"If the marks shifted so much, how did you know they wouldn't shift again?" Marco asked once.  
  
His mom smiled. "It's not so much that they shifted, Marco, but almost as if they were...opaque, hard to see clearly. Here," she said, taking his hand and turning it over in her own. "What's on my wrist?" she asked.  
  
"A mountain skyline," he intoned.  
  
"And on yours?"  
  
Marco moved his gaze to his own wrist. He looked at his marks every day, he _totally_ knew what was there. And yet...he really couldn't say what it was. A...bandana, maybe? Or a sword. Or a duck? Or maybe a-  
  
"Marco, Marco, don't strain yourself," his mom interrupted, a hint of laughter in her voice. She tilted his chin up with her fingers, using the arm that had the paint brush mark on it. "I think my point is made. When you really focus on them before they're ready, your marks won't let you see them properly. But once they are ready, once you and whoever else is out there with the matches is ready... _then_ you will see them, as clear as day. And you will know!" She kissed him on the nose, to which he complained loudly as he wiped at his face.  
  
He was around five then. His crush on Jackie didn't exist yet, but it wasn't far off, and that would lead Marco to the eventual discovery that begging your wrists to do what you want rather than whatever they were doing never worked, no matter how bad you wanted it.

 

* * *

 

She had a rainbow over her head, and it was on fire.  
  
Marco was gonna sweat right through his hoodie if he stayed with this girl any longer.  
  
He booked it all the way home, only to find the overenthusiastic alien girl sitting on the couch in his living room, right between his parents. As far as first meetings went, the very sight of her making him groan didn't bode well for their relationship. And he was right—or at least, thought he'd been.  
  
After the _portal to another dimension_ had closed behind the last of the _monsters_ they'd fought, Marco couldn't stop himself from grinning.  
  
"That was amazing! I was amazing! You were amazing!"  
  
He could live with reevaluating his first impression. He could even live with half a dozen laser puppies, and a space alien princess sharing the bathroom with him. After _that_ amazing night, he'd do almost anything.

 

* * *

 

“Marco?”

 

“Uh-huh,” he answered distractedly. He was doing math homework in the living room, and was _totally_ in the zone that he didn't wanna snap out of.

 

Star was next to him on the couch, sitting upside down so her feet were in the air and her hair spilled across the floor, a girl practically designed to snap him out of comfortable, productive zones.

 

“What are the marks I see on some people’s wrists? Like your mom and dad? And Alfonzo? And that one girl who sits near us at lunch?”

 

Consider the zone snapped. Marco felt like a bucket of ice had been poured on him. He fought the urge to fiddle with his sleeves; his hoodie more than effectively covered his wrists.

 

“They're, uh, soulmate marks,” he said, still looking at his page.

 

Star sat up and stayed there, holding herself aloft horizontally in the air. Marco’s abs ached at the sight. “Soulmate marks?” she asked excitedly. “Tell me more!” She pulled her legs down from the top of the couch and sat cross-legged on the couch, but still backwards, wiggling wildly.

 

“Well, uh.” Marco could feel his cheeks heating up. “I assume you're familiar with the concept of soulmates, y’know, people who you match with, who you're really close to. Soulmates get each other, and...they make each other better.” Marco sat up, putting down his pencil. Star was still wiggling a bit next to him, but he kept his eyes forward. “But I guess the universe doesn't trust us to find those people on our own, so we get marks to help us. Everybody gets two marks, and they usually become solid and visible during defining moments of the soulmates’ relationship.”

 

“Your parents marks are different on each wrist,” Star commented. “Is that normal?”

 

Marco nodded. “Yeah, definitely. Actually, I mean, most people have more than one soulmate, and so their marks definitely wouldn't match up then. But yeah, with my parents, they have two different marks for two different defining moments.”

 

Star _hmm_ ’d. Marco looked over to see her leaning back to stare at the ceiling. “So, do soulmates always get married?” she asked. Marco choked.

 

“No way! For one thing, Alfonzo’s soulmate is his _cousin_.” Star’s brow furrowed and Marco fought not to choke again. Did cousins get married on Mewni? He really hoped not. He shuddered and went on. “A soulmate just means someone ideally suited to you, but it doesn't force them to mean something to you in a certain way.”

 

Star nodded pensively, digging her feet into the couch cushion. “We kinda have something like that on Mewni. Marks, I mean.”

 

Marco sat up straighter to see Star better. “No way! What’re they like?”

 

“Well, not everybody has them, but if you do, you're born with them and they stay the same your whole life.” Marco watched Star’s hand drift near her face.

 

"Do you have them? Is that what the marks on your cheeks are?" Marco asked, genuinely curious.

 

Star’s hand flopped in her lap. "What.”

 

Marco turned to face Star and patted his own cheeks. "Y’know, your marks." Star looked completely blindsided, her mouth hanging open a little bit. "Unless...they're just beauty marks?" he asked, uncertain.

 

Star’s eyes widened. "No no, you're right, they're those marks.” Without seeming to realize she was doing it, she touched her cheeks again. “They're called suit marks."

 

Marco tilted his head. "Why’s tha—" Marco jumped, cut short by Star falling on the floor with a thump. “Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, yeah totally! I just—gotta go, I have something important to do!”

 

And before Marco could ask “What important thing?” she was gone up the stairs. Marco blinked in the silence. His math homework sat unfinished in front of him, but his focus was totally gone now. He sighed, then absentmindedly rubbed at his wrist, with its unsettled, waiting mark.

 

* * *

 

When mewberty hit Star, Marco had finally been feeling like they'd settled into a good friendship groove.

 

But then she had to turn into a purple boy-monster and terrorize the school, with absolutely nothing he could do about it.

 

It shook him up, more than he'd ever admit to anyone, especially Star. The moment when he finally listened to Glossaryck and let go, thinking he'd never see Star again, or definitely not the Star he knew...it was...soul-wrenching.

 

(That was the tip-off. That feeling was the clue, and he missed it.)

 

A shudder went through Marco as he closed his eyes, holding back tears. He opened them again when he felt something on his nose, only to see a purple mewberty heart resting there, and more falling from the sky.

 

His reunion with Star, normal Star, _his_ Star, was relieving, and way too purple for his liking, and the wings were a little weird after that whole day, but she loved them, small as they were, so he didn’t say anything. Star did some spells, including a few suggested by Glossaryck, to clean up the school as best she could without making it worse, and then they went home.

 

Marco didn't think anything of the remaining purple heart on Star's cheek. He figured she’d be able to take it off later. No, he didn't think of it, not until after they went home, after they had supper, after they curled up on the couch to watch an hour of TV together. Not until they went to get ready for bed, and he pulled off his hoodie, and caught a glimpse of purple.

 

He dropped the hoodie in surprise, looking all over before realizing where he'd seen the purple. Holding his breath, he lifted his right arm up and stared. A purple heart. On his arm.

 

It had to be a mewberty heart, right? Right, of course, just another leftover one stuck there. Right.

 

Marco picked at his wrist, but the heart didn't move. It was a part of his skin, like a tattoo, like a mark.

 

It wasn’t a mewberty heart. Marco’s eyes grew wide, and he inhaled deeply.

 

That was about when Star’s scream echoed through the house.

 

* * *

 

All three of the Diaz’s went running when Star screamed, of course. It wasn't often their alien warrior princess ever displayed such a visceral need for anything.

 

They found Star at her mirror, staring into it and rubbing her right cheek.

 

Marco very emphatically thought a swear word, _very_ aware of his parents next to him.

 

“Star? What's wrong?” Dad asked.

 

“It's—it’s this heart! I thought it was from mewberty, but then it wouldn't come off, and then I realized where it was on my cheek, like it's _there_ , right there, and I don't know what this means and I’m pretty sure my mom’s gonna kill me.” Star’s speed increased as she talked, ending up slurring her last words together, still rubbing and poking at her cheek the whole time. Marco noticed her wand lay haphazardly abandoned on the vanity.

 

“Honey,” Mom said, stepping towards Star. “It's okay.”

 

“But it's not okay! Or it's not something! This isn't how it's supposed to happen!”

 

Mom nodded slowly. She had reached Star by then and gently took her hands into her grasp. “Let’s sit,” she said, and jerked her head at her boys, telling them to _get over here!_

 

Marco sat beside Star on her bed, his parents on her other side, making sure to casually crossing his arms so his right wrist wouldn't be visible.

 

“So, you have a mark on your cheek, yes? Are marks normal on Mewni? How do they work?” Mom had been working off of Star’s nods until then, but that last one required words. She kept an arm around Star’s shoulders and nodded encouragingly. Dad did the same, and Star’s shoulders lost a bit of their tension. She explained what she’d told Marco a few weeks ago, about suit marks. But this time, she included a bit more information.

 

“Only the women in my family get them. The ones who rule, or might rule.” Star looked down at her hands. “I was probably the first in our entire history to be born to a queen, without marks. Without _real_ marks.”

 

Marco’s arms had gone slack, forgetting himself as he absorbed what Star had kept hidden. He glanced at the heart again, a perfect match to the one on Star’s face.

 

“It could be,” Star was saying to Mom, answering a question Marco had missed. “But the marks always match on each cheek, and this is just one. I don't know what it means!”

 

Marco could tell from his parents faces that they were beginning to wonder about soulmarks. He sighed quietly.

 

“I do,” he said. He sat forward so Star could see him better. “I just noticed this.” He held out his right arm, in full view of them all, and let them take in the perfect full heart on his wrist.

 

Dad gasped, a delighted sound that made Marco want to jump out the window and never come back, but thankfully Mom didn't do anything, beyond saying, “Time to go Rafael, let’s go,” and hustling him out the door. She looked at them both, giving them a soft smile before shutting the door behind her.

 

After more than ten seconds of silence, Marco finally turned to look at Star, who was staring at his wrist with utter confusion and possibly the tiniest amount of disgust.

 

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Star,” he said flatly.

 

“Thhhhat's a soulmark,” she said, face unchanged and pointing at his wrist.

 

“Yes.”

 

“And it matches my mark.” Her finger shifted to herself.

 

“Yes.”

 

“So, wwwwww—”

 

“Yes,” Marco interrupted before she even articulated it. He wasn't sure either of them were ready to say out loud just yet, even with the proof of it staring them right in the face.

 

Star finally looked up to meet his eyes. She wasn’t being goofy, she didn’t look scared. And, unlike earlier that day, he could tell she was there, she was _seeing_ him. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then-

 

“Huh,” she said quietly. Marco blinked, then laughed. Star joined him after a second, falling back on her bed. Marco fell back after her, then immediately lifted his head at Star’s “Ow!”, letting her move her hair out of the way.

 

They kept laughing for another minute, then fell silent, until Star said, “Talk about unexpected side effects of mewberty,” which set Marco off laughing again, Star joining in soon after.

 

* * *

 

But why this arm?

 

Marco rolled over in the dead of night, suddenly wide awake. Why, if he was soulmates with Star, did it have to be his _right_ arm, the one that he still sometimes wondered wouldn’t grow a mouth and try to eat people again?

 

Also, how was this his life?

 

He had a hard time falling back asleep after that.

 

* * *

 

Alfonzo and Ferguson were giddy over the pixies and their song. Marco watched them with amusement as they walked until Star elbowed him. A tree was up ahead, clearly the pixie’s office.

 

“Here we aa-aaare! How you gonna... _star_ this one up, twinsie?” Star danced in place, grinning at Marco.

 

“I already told you, Star, I ain't no twin!” He marched past her to the door in the tree trunk. “Marco Diaz came into this world alone! Alone!” He dropped his stiff posture to give her an exasperated look. “Also, I’m your soulmate! We don't need to be twins! I am not a mess up twin!” He opened the door and crawled inside.

 

“Whatever you say, Marco!” Star laughed as she followed him in.

 

* * *

 

There was nothing quite like a friend ditching you to realize how much your social life relied on them. Marco sighed and ate another chip. It wasn't as if he didn't have other friends; of course he did, and Alfonzo and Ferguson were great, but tonight, he couldn't stop thinking about Star and _Tom_. That guy was totally shifty, and also a _literal demon_. And his soulmate had gone off with him, to a _Blood Moon Ball_ , with no backup! (The fact that she was pretty handy with a wand was mostly crowded out by thoughts of _yeah, but what if—._ )

 

“Blood Moon tonight,” a voice growled. Marco stopped chewing and looked around. Nothing. Okay, then. He went back to brooding.

 

“The moon,” the voice rumbled again, “Of loverrrrsss.” Marco stood up abruptly. He stared at the painting of the sailor on the wall, which was unchanged. Then he turned and saw the bell and hammer from Tom sitting on Star’s side table.

 

What would be the harm in him going, really? He and Star were literally perfect company for each other, and how great could a ball in the underworld really be? She’d probably be desperate for someone _normal_ to hang with.

 

All soulmates he knew that were also romantic partners were pushed out of his head. The weird voice he’d heard became rationalized as the result of eating too many chips in one go. He _definitely_ did not think of how he’d accidentally peeked at Star when she’d been changing earlier that day.

 

He just wanted to go...to check on her. To be at her side, where he was supposed to be. Marco grabbed his mask off Star’s bed and slid it on. The red light from the moon outside spilled over him from the window as he picked up the bell and hammer from the side table.

 

* * *

 

He started regretting it after the door to the floating-carriage-elevator-thing closed behind him.

 

* * *

 

He started _not_ regretting it again once he got to the ballroom, which was full of people with horns and walls stained an alarming off-brown colour. There was even organ music playing, which, seriously, way to fulfill clichés, Tom.

 

Thankfully, it didn’t look like there was any death happening, so neither Tom nor Star had gone off on any rampages of any sort. Yet. Marco started pushing past half-hearted dancers, calling Star’s name.

 

He saw her, wandering the floor alone, looking awestruck at the ceiling. She didn’t hear him, so he ran after her and grabbed her hand. The plan was to dance as half-heartedly as everyone else so they could talk before getting the heck out of there, but as soon as he pulled her close, the lights dimmed and a red beam shone down on them.

 

Right. Blood Moon Ball. Okay.

 

Marco took Star’s hands and began to spin her around. This was actually kinda fun—loads better than learning to dance in gym class with Miss Skullnick calling out _One, two three, one two, three,_ from the side. The two of them spun across the dance floor, and Star was looking at him like...like she’d been looking at the ceiling, before. She smiled, and he smiled back, having forgotten all about his mask. _Yes_. This was where he was supposed to be.

 

He pulled her closer and quietly said, “Star.”

 

"How did you know my name?" Star asked, almost droopy, breathless.

  
"It's me! Marco!" He lifted up his mask, then pulled Star close to twirl them again. "Let's get out of here!"

  
"Marco! What are you doing here?"

He turned to take in Star's face. It looked like her good mood had vanished—she looked stunned, unprepared. It wasn't something Marco was used to seeing on her. Under the red light coming from the cavern's roof, it was hard to tell, but he was pretty sure something was happening to Star's left cheek, her _unmarked_ cheek.

 

 _Oh no_ , Marco thought. _Not again._ Then, he shivered, whole-bodied, his skin tingling in its wake.

 

Before he could find the right words to say to Star, he was shoved by a pair of hands and was skidding across the dance floor. The light from the cavern suddenly cut out, replaced by lantern light. Marco looked up— _avoiding his wrist avoiding his wrist_ —to see Tom standing by Star, eyes glowing and prickling with anger.

 

“That dance,” Tom snarled, “Was meant. FOR ME!” Flames burst from the boy, encircling the dance floor, and more importantly, Marco. Tom approached slowly, but Marco didn't have anywhere to go, with a wall of fire at his back. Between one step and the next, Tom froze.

 

Like, literally, he was frozen. In a block of ice. By Star. Star, who looked tired and frustrated and _had a red crescent on her left cheek_. Marco pulled down his left sleeve without looking.

 

“Let’s go, Marco,” she said, walking past him to the exit. Marco scrambled to his feet and followed after her.

 

The ride back up to the mortal realm was silent. Star took off her boots so she was in bare feet. Marco kept pulling at his sleeves, too nervous to look at his wrist. Neither of them looked at each other—Marco wanted to live in denial just a little bit longer.

 

The floating elevator-carriage stopped outside Star’s balcony once again. “Thanks for the lift!” Star said cheerily to the flying demon before hopping onto her balcony. “Uufh, so infuriating,” she grumbled.

 

 _I told you so_ , Marco thought. “I hate to say it, but I warned you about Tom,” he said aloud.

 

“No,” Star said, turning around to face him. The red crescent stuck out to him glaringly. “YOU! _You’re_ infuriating!” She threw her boots at him. All thoughts of soulmates fled Marco’s brain, and his gaze switched to Star’s eyes. _What?_

 

“Me? I was just trying to help—”

 

“You don’t trust me to do things by myself! I’m fourteen! I can handle a demon.” Marco turned to watch as she walked past him to lean against the balcony wall and look out into the night. She went on, quieter now, “I know you’re trying to look out for me, but you have to let me figure things out on my own. I don’t need a hero, I need a friend.”

 

Marco’s stomach dropped. He looked down at his wrists, both marked to match the girl standing before him, curled into herself. _I screwed up._

 

He walked forward and leaned against the wall next to her. “You’re right,” he sighed. “I should’ve trusted you. I’m sorry I ruined your night.”

 

Star shrugged with one shoulder and gave him a sidelong smile. All was forgiven. He exhaled with a smile of his own, and looked down at his hands again.

 

“So, uh,” Marco broke the silence, fiddling with his sleeve. “What was up with the red light at the dance? Like, the stream of it from the roof.”

 

“Well, it _was_ the Blood Moon Ball, Marco.” Star looked off to the side. “And also, thebloodmoonpickstwosoulstobindtogethereverysixhundredyearsanditjustsohappenedtobeus.”

 

Marco blinked, then facepalmed. “You've gotta be kidding me.”

 

“You're the one that jumped out to dance with me, right underneath it!”

 

“It's not that! It's. Ugh.” Marco held out his left wrist to her, still covering his face with his other hand. A few seconds passed, then he could feel the fabric shift up his arm, Star’s fingers hot against his inner wrist.

 

“No!” Star exclaimed, sounding more shocked than anything else. “No way!”

 

Marco opened his eyes and looked over. There it was, a red crescent moon on his inner wrist. “I wonder if the Blood Moon always does this, regardless if it's on humans or not.”

 

“There's a _crescent_ on my _face_?!” Star asked, turning to face Marco.

 

He took her in: blonde hair pulled up on her head, wide blue eyes, a lavender heart on one cheek, and on the other…

 

“Yep,” he said simply.

 

Star yelled wordlessly. “What's my _mom_ gonna think?”

 

* * *

 

Star panicked.

 

Marco’s reaction to Star panicking was almost always to fix it as best he could, or at least prevent her spiral from causing permanent damage or, like, death to surrounding people.

 

“MARCO!” Star yelled, bursting into Marco’s room the morning after the Blood Moon Ball.

 

“WAUGH!” Marco yelled, sitting bolt upright in bed. He heaved in a breath. “WHAT!! WHAT DO YOU WANT!”

 

“Marco!” Star’s shoulders were hunched up, her fingers near her mouth. “If both of our marks match,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “Does that mean we have to...get married?”

 

Marco’s jaw dropped. He still felt half-asleep and here he was, speechless, _thought_ less for a few seconds before he could respond. “ _Why_ do you think that?” he asked incredulously.

 

“Your parents are the only people I know who are double-bonded and they’re super married, Marco! Like, really, really in love, it’s kinda gross.”

 

“That’s just—that’s—” Marco sputtered. “That’s just them, I promise! Soulmate doesn’t mean married! I’ve told you that! We don’t—we’re not—I LIKE JACKIE!”  
  
“I know that! Geez, I was just wondering. I just wanted to know if we had to get married, but we don’t, so I’m good!” Star grinned and was gone in a flash. Marco exhaled loudly before flopping back on his bed. Star Butterfly was an exhausting soulmate.

 

* * *

 

Now, since Marco’s reaction to Star panicking was to fix it at any cost, it usually meant his own panic was delayed, anywhere from five minutes to five days.

 

Five days was how long it took after the ‘married’ incident with Star. He was in the kitchen making nachos for her when he happened to look outside and see his parents together in the backyard, dancing. Mom was laughing, her hands resting on Dad’s chest, and Dad had his hands lightly wrapped around her wrists, grinning widely at her.

 

 _Super married._ Marco dropped the cheese he was holding and shoved his sleeves up, staring down at his marks. A purple heart on the right and a red crescent on the left. Nice and simple, solid coloured—one was even red, his favourite colour!

 

 _But they were both matched with the same girl._ And not even a regular girl! No, she wasn’t even from _Earth_ , of course she had to be an _alien princess_ from _another dimension_.

 

“Oh no,” Marco said. He sat down, hard, on the nearest stool. He couldn’t stop staring at his marks. “Ohhhh no.”

 

Mentally going down the list of everybody he knew with matched marks, he realized he’d accidentally lied to Star. He didn’t know anybody other than his parents who were double-bonded, and yeah, they were super married. What if they _did_ have to get married? He was only fourteen! He didn’t wanna get married! He wanted to go to school, and nod to Jackie—JACKIE! He still had a crush on Jackie! How could he be romantically involved with Star if he was interested in someone else, right? He couldn’t get married if he didn’t even like Star like that! ...But what if Star’s parents found out and made them get married anyway? No, no, they didn’t have soulmarks on Mewni, they wouldn’t have like, royal protocols for them.

 

The heart and moon were starting to blur in his vision—he was going cross-eyed from staring too hard.

 

“Mmmmarco? Hello-oooo.” Star’s hand waved in front of his face, breaking his concentration. How long had she been there?

 

Marco huffed, blinked, and shook his head. “Right, right, nachos!” He stood up, avoiding Star’s gaze, and walked right into the counter.

 

“Marco, are you okay?” He could tell Star’s head was tilted to the side, watching him in confusion; he didn't even have to see her, he just knew. _Soulmates._

 

“Yeah! Yeah, yeah, just, y’know, thinking. About stuff.” He put the finally-prepared nachos into the oven. Not finding an excuse to avoid her anymore, he smiled as best he could and turned around to face her.

 

“About what?” Star asked, looking at him like he had two heads that were covered in slime.

 

Marco stared. _Super married._ He laughed lightly. “School!” he squeaked.

 

Star’s brow furrowed. “What, did you forget to do a homework assignment or something?” she asked sarcastically.

 

The oven dinged and Marco turned to get the nachos. “Yes! Yes, I did, actually.” He poured the nachos onto a plate—if he left Star to do it, she'd either burn herself on the pan or ruin the kitchen with magic. “So, uh, here's your nachos,” he shoved the plate into her hands, “And I’m gonna go work on that! Okaygreatbye,” he said, and made a hasty retreat before Star could reply.

 

* * *

 

Star and Marco were best friends. Undeniably. Especially after the whole ‘kidnapped by an evil maniac crocodile man to get the wand destroyed’ incident.

 

(Star and Marco had hugged lots before that; they were both naturally pretty tactile people. But that hug, after the explosion, was different. It wasn't something Marco felt on his wrists or anything like that, but the way Star’s fingers dug into his back, the way she smelled underneath the ash and sulfur—that told him. Something was different now. Something had changed.)

 

Best friends were commonly soulmates. Or, maybe that should be the other way around: soulmates were commonly best friends. Nobody thought twice about the fact that Star and Marco were soulmates, and the two of them didn't really advertise that they were soulmates two times over. Life, all around, was pretty great. And Marco felt like what he had with Star was everything a best friend was supposed to be: someone who pushed him when he needed it, who always did her best to help out, even if he really, really wished she wouldn't sometimes, and someone he could talk to about anything, or who could talk to him about anything.

 

They really did talk about everything except for, of course, themselves. Their relationship. Their marks. Star was undeniably Marco’s best friend, but it was all unspoken. They gave each other encouragement and love when it was needed, but on a day-to-day basis, the whole ‘we’re double-bonded soulmates’ thing was _not_ , under any circumstances, even acknowledged. The potential their marks offered was never spoken of. Marco didn’t even wanna breach that. Their hugs, frequent as they were, were always silent.

 

 _I love her,_ Marco thought to himself, Star’s purple-dyed hair (good going, Tom) brushing against his fingers. _I don’t think I can say that out loud._

 

* * *

 

Honestly, the last thing Marco had expected on their camping trip was a king from another dimension to fall from the sky. It shouldn't have been, but it was.

 

River was climbing out of the crater he had created (wearing nothing but a weird leafy loincloth, which was, okay) when Star grabbed Marco’s arm.

 

“Marco!” she hissed. Marco leaned in close. “You have to keep your wrists covered while my dad’s here.”

 

Marco raised an eyebrow and lift his hoodie-covered wrists.

 

Star rolled her eyes. “Just make sure they don't show!”

 

“Okay!”

 

Marco could count on one hand the people that knew he and Star were double-bonded: his mom and dad, her mom, and Glossaryck. (And Janna, probably, but Marco liked to pretend that she _didn’t_ know every single personal detail about his life.) Back on Mewni after everything with Toffee and Ludo, when Moon had realized why Star had two full marks on her cheeks, she agreed to keep it a secret from River. And honestly, remembering that time the king had thrown a huge party at their house with people from a dozen different dimensions meant Marco was completely okay with keeping his marks hidden from Star’s dad. He wore a hoodie literally all the time anyways, it wasn’t _that_ big of a deal.

 

Later, when Marco needed to spray himself with bug spray, he rolled his eyes at Star before turning so River wouldn’t see his arms as he rolled up his sleeves.

 

Even later, they sat on the couch at home and watched as Mom and Dad showed them their vacation paintings, and Marco just felt so...content. River was really strange, honestly, and the boyfriend comments he’d made had been uncomfortable, but just sitting here with him and Star felt so normal. It was nice.

 

* * *

 

It wasn't until Star’s seventeenth birthday that her and Marco finally admitted to themselves—and to _each other_ —that they wanted more than friendship from each other.

 

In their typical fashion, getting to that point included nachos, embarrassing themselves in front of their friends, getting zapped in the legs by the dogs, and—even after fleeing to Star’s room for some privacy—Glossaryck’s presence.

 

After they'd shoved Glossaryck and the spellbook into the closet, they sat down next to each other on the bed and proceeded to say nothing.

A minute went by before Glossaryck’s voice came from the closet. “Oh, just get on with it already!”

 

“Shut your mouth, Glossaryck!” Star yelled, just as Marco yelled, “Go eat some pudding!”

 

They looked at each other and laughed a bit before falling silent again.

 

Finally, Marco felt brave enough to say something. “Star, we’ve had these marks for almost three years,” he held out his wrists. “And in that time, I like to think I’ve learned a bit about being a soulmate.” Star stayed uncharacteristically silent, her eyes wide and steady on him. He swallowed and looked down at the purple heart, the red crescent, and went on, “I think the biggest thing I've learned is that we choose our own meaning. The marks are just symbols, and we have to decide for ourselves what they mean. And...and I just want...I want you to know that when I said I like you, romantically, I made that choice myself. _I_ like you, and this heart or this crescent or every dimension in the entire universe didn't make me.”

 

After a few seconds of silence, Marco looked up, a bit nervous. Star’s eyes were wide and a bit watery. He held his breath, waiting for her to say something.

 

He should’ve expected what happened next: Star was always more a girl of action than words.

 

Ten seconds of silence he’d counted, their eyes on each other, before she leaned forward, lightning fast, and kissed him square on the mouth. He nearly fell over from the force of it, but caught himself with his hands on her bed. The kiss wasn’t soft, exactly—he wouldn’t have expected it to be—but it was innocent, almost. Like they were fourteen again, soulmarks new on their skin and them still learning each other.

 

When they leaned back to catch their breath, he noticed something in the moonlight coming in through the window. _Wait_ , he thought.

 

Star leaned in again, lips sure and not exactly gentle against his own, this time. She eased her lips open, and his did the same in response, although his brain was still stuck at _Wait_. He blinked his eyes open and pulled back suddenly. “Wait!” he cried. He held Star’s chin in one hand and tilted her face to the window.

 

“Uh, Marco? What are you doing?” Star mirrored his move, grabbing his chin with her hand and working against his hold to lean in again.

 

“No,” Marco managed to get out before their lips met. “Star,” She kissed him again. “I think,” he hummed a bit before blinking to focus. “I think the heart’s gone red.” That brought Star up short. She didn't lean back, though—she was practically sitting in his lap at this point, and he was more than happy to have her there. She grabbed his right wrist and slid the sleeve up, showing off a brand new red heart, a light shade matching their crescents. Marco marvelled at it, and he heard Star let out a breath.

  
“Thank Mewni,” she breathed, leaving his wrist by her waist. “I hated the purple.” She was smiling as she brought their lips together again, and Marco couldn't help but smile in response.

**Author's Note:**

> *throws glitter* 'tis done!
> 
> other soulmate-ey things to note (aka things i couldn't justify including in the story to myself)
> 
> -not long after they had that first talk explaining soulmarks, star doubtfully asked whether soulmates could really be platonic. (the power of the diazes at work, people). indignant marco sat her down and they watched all three high school musical movies. “YOU SEE?!” he cried during ‘the boy's are back’ in hsm3, “FRIENDSHIP IS POWERFUL!!”
> 
> -after marco freaks out about his super-married parents being the only double bonded people he knows, janna ‘out of the blue’ tells him about how jackie lynn is double bonded with her older brother. it relieves him with regards to star and also gives him hope in regards to jackie lynn and his crush on her  
> \--also, [to the tune of hollaback girl] this kid's! in denial! D-E-N-I-A-L-L!!
> 
> -i like to think about toffee reacting to a daughter of the butterfly line being 'infected' by earth magic but i honestly have no clue what he'd do with the information. (kidnap marco lol)
> 
> thank you for reading! kudos and comments are much loved! 
> 
> if you want, you can find me at wraithinej.tumblr.com and [twitter.com/alinastarkovas ](https://twitter.com/alinastarkovas)


End file.
